As I sit to write this, I yearn to be outside
enjoying the sun, which has been shining down since early this morning. With all the rain we have dealt with lately,
the sun brings a refreshing change. Of
course, not all of us feel the same way about this golden orb. Some burn easily and must avoid prolonged
exposure. Others avoid it due to
frequent bouts with heat exhaustion. Me,
I can’t live without the recharge I get from the sun’s warming rays.
I hope that’s how each of you feels concerning the “Son”. I hope that prolonged exposure to the Son
does not cause you too much distress or discomfort. Of course, I realize that His glory can, at
times, reveal parts of our nature that we would rather not see (and certainly
do not want others to see). But His
revealing is done out of love for us, not to point the finger of blame and
shame.
You see, Jesus knew our hearts before He called us to
himself. Yet, He still chose to call
us. Consider the story of the prodigal
son from Luke 15. We can be relatively
certain that, although he realized the errors of his ways and found his way
back to his father’s house, he probably still felt the
same yearnings deep down that had pulled him away from his father in the
beginning. He had gained perspective,
but he was likely still struggling with the same inner turmoil.
I believe we can be equally as certain that his
father knew this. And yet, he welcomed
his son back with open arms, even running out to greet him when he was a good
distance away; not to scold him, but to show his love and mercy toward him.
Notice what happens when the son begins to pour out
his heart, calling attention to what a miserable wretch he had become and how
he had disgraced his father (LK 15:21).
Immediately, the father turns the attention away form his son’s failures
and onto the fact that he is home once again (vs. 22-24). This is how our heavenly Father treats us.
God is not interested in tearing us down, but in lifting
us up. He wants us to be useful, not
useless. He wants to fill us with His
Holy Spirit, not leave us desolate. But
just as the potter has to pound the clay in order to soften it, God softens our
hearts by revealing our sinful nature while, at the same time, revealing to us
His grace-filled nature.
So, if you tend to spend much of your time thrashing
yourself for being such an imperfect human being, consider this – what other
kind is there? And yet God loves us all
– more than that, He desires for us to bask in His glory. If you find yourself spending most of your
time fretting about the dark places in your life, turn to the Son and let His
warming rays soak deep into your soul.
You’ll be glad you did!
God bless,
Pastor
Thom
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